RENO, Nev. -- "Let's Get It Started" plays loudly in Barbara Barker's classroom. She starts dancing to the hip-hop hit by the Black Eyed Peas.

For three minutes, just after the first bell every Friday morning, she shakes her hips in a classroom that for at least eight hours every day feels like home for the passionate English teacher.

In the corner hangs a flashing neon "Open" sign that Barker found at a garage sale.

"I say we are open for education," Barker said. "When it's not flashing, students say, 'Turn it on, we can't learn if it's off.'"

The Friday dancing is a new tradition at Sparks Middle School, whose 730 students and 69 staffers will forever remember Oct. 21, 2013.

It was a Monday, the first day back after fall break, when seventh-grader Jose Reyes brought a 9mm semi-automatic pistol to school. Just before the first bell, Jose walked behind the school to the lunch area and basketball courts, shot and killed math teacher Michael Landsberry and shot and injured two students before killing himself.

The Sparks Police Department says the investigation could be finished as soon as this month. The school district knows that when the report comes out, it may be tough for students and staff to hear new information and have to relive the past.

It's still tough on the 21st day of every month.

"For some reason, we don't have to talk about it being the 21st, but we just know and things are tougher on that day," said eighth-grader Seth Hinchberger. Seth was one of a few dozen students caught outside between the school's east and south halls the morning of the shooting.

Today, from where Barker dances, Landsberry's former classroom door is visible. Taped around it are photos of him and his wife, students and staff.

"He was such a big presence," Barker said. "Dancing is a way to embrace his significance and start new memories."

It's been almost four months since Barker, another teacher and 14 students locked themselves in a computer lab after seeing the terror at school that morning.

Today, things are better, she said. There are days she feels like crying but is reassured by the resilience of her students. On Friday, the school was full of balloons for Valentine's Day.

"The tone in the building is positive," Barker said.

Posters hang in halls about yearbooks and an upcoming math and dessert night.

Overheard in the halls are complaints about homework, making it to class before the bell rings and the end of the basketball season.

The only visible difference is the presence of a full-time police officer — the only one at a Washoe County middle school. Every district high school is assigned an officer, but patrol duties are shared at other elementary and middle schools.

A full-time officer was one of the staff's first requests after the shooting.

Resilience and grief

Students at Sparks Middle School say they are happy again.

Eighth-grader Michelle Hernandez leads the school's Make a Difference Club. Started with a few students a year ago, it has grown to more than 100 members who pledge to do nice things for one another.

"I'm doing great, but you can tell the teachers are still really sad," Michelle said. She was one of dozens of students who witnessed the horror of Oct. 21 just minutes after her mom dropped her off at school that day.

Slain math teacher Michael Landsberry, with his wife, Sharon, will be honored with a memorial at Sparks Middle School.(Photo: Facebook)

She's been in counseling provided by the district.

But she lights up when she talks about the club and going to high school next year.

The group has tie-dyed shirts for classmates, given away bags printed with an anti-bullying message, and, on Thursday, surprised the first of many teachers they plan to bring breakfast.

Seth Hinchberger said school is getting back to normal.

"We can't do anything about it, and we realize that now," he said. "We are moving on."

Chad Hicks, an area superintendent who oversees 17 schools, including Sparks Middle, said there are a lot of positive things happening at the school.

"Children appear to be happy," he said. "They are more resilient than us."

But there's still a long road ahead.

"It's not just about rebuilding," Hicks said. "It has to be about making Sparks Middle School better than it ever was."

New leadership

Barker's students laugh, begging her to stop torturing them with her dancing on Friday mornings. Sometimes other teachers dance, too. Even principal Stacey Ting-Senini has danced in Barker's class.

Ting-Senini has been at Sparks Middle School since Oct. 31. She was the district's only consulting principal, an upper management position formed to mentor others, when she was asked to go to Sparks Middle School.

Former Principal Stacy Cooper went on leave immediately after the shooting.

The district said Cooper did nothing wrong but is not returning.

There hasn't been much staff or student turnover despite reports after the shooting that as many as a dozen teachers were on leave and some parents threatened to move their children to other schools.

Ting-Senini is at the school until the end of the school year, and by all appearances looks committed to stay. The district said it will go through a formal process to fill the position.

Students say Ting-Senini is the right fit. The names of students she doesn't know yet she calls "honey" or "sweetie," but said she and staff are on a mission to get to know students, their stories and their lives.

She goes up to children and introduces herself, taking extra time with those who seem alone.

Sparks middle school Principal Stacey Ting-Senini laughs with students in a classroom.(Photo: Andy Barron, Reno Gazette-Journal)

"At first they seem irritated I'm following them, trying to talk," Ting-Senini said. "But then the next day they are coming up to me. "

Hicks said that after months of allowing students and staff to focus on emotional learning, there's a renewed focus on academics.

Sparks Middle School is historically one of the district's lowest ranked middle schools. The school receives additional federal funds because 73.4 percent of students live at or below the poverty level.

"These are students that were already kind of behind, and if they fall more behind, they will be lost in the shuffle," Hicks said.

The district stressed much of what happens next is unknown.

"It hasn't even been four months yet," school board President Barbara Clark said on Tuesday.

But for now, it's back to the books.

Eighth-grader Neil Penrod, who is also in the Make a Difference Club, said he's focused on school work.

Landsberry was Neil's math teacher. He said he's adjusted and doing well with his new teacher.